The Ballon d’Or will be awarded in Paris on September 22, with data and criteria pointing to Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembélé as frontrunners, though Kylian Mbappé and Viktor Gyökeres also emerge as leading contenders.
Pep Guardiola said Erling Haaland can become the Champions League’s all-time top goalscorer after reaching 50 in record time in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over 10-man Napoli.
Marcus Rashford scored his first goals for Barcelona as the England forward’s brilliant brace inspired a 2-1 win against Newcastle in the Champions League on Thursday.
Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich beat Chelsea 3-1 at home in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.
Virgil van Dijk’s stoppage-time winner sparked a confrontation between Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone and Liverpool fans at Anfield as the Reds opened their Champions League campaign with a dramatic 3-2 victory on Wednesday.
England international full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold suffered a hamstring injury in Real Madrid’s Champions League victory over Marseille, the club said on Wednesday.
Kevin De Bruyne will return to Manchester City on Thursday with the wind in his sails after a fast start with Napoli, who return to the Champions League full of confidence following a perfect start to the Serie A season.
Tottenham were gifted the perfect start to their Champions League campaign as a farcical own goal from Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior sealed a 1-0 win on Tuesday.
Kylian Mbappe slammed home two penalties for Real Madrid as the record 15-time winners opened their Champions League campaign with a controversial 2-1 comeback win over Olympique Marseille on Tuesday.
Arsenal substitutes Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard pounced in the final stages to secure a 2-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao in their Champions League opener.